Money Laundering

Money Laundering

Disguising the source of money generated through illegal activities so that it resembles legitimate income. Money laundering involves breaking up large amounts of cash into smaller transactions, changing its form through investments or deposits into bank accounts, and moving the money through seemingly legitimate businesses to bring it into mainstream economy.

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Money Laundering

An illegal act in which one makes illegally obtained money appear to be legally obtained. For instance, one may route money obtained in drug trafficking through a shell company to give it the veneer of legitimacy. One formerly common example is the practice of exchanging illegally obtained money for coins and placing them into a soda machine. One then deposits money from the soda machine such that it looks like the money came from the purchase of sodas rather than from its real source.